“By His wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5
“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you
leaving you an example that you should
follow in His steps.”
1 Peter 2:21
As a team leader for several medical teams into the poorest parts of Haiti and Guatemala I have seen a lot of sickness and injury that I would never have been exposed to in the U.S. I remember very well a woman with severe burns that had been treated improperly for several months. I remember the man who came in with a deep machete wound from an attack on his family. The wound was severely infected from improper medical care. I remember a woman who had broken her leg and it hadn’t been set correctly so that now she was permanently disabled. Wounds that are not dealt with properly can have lasting, sometimes devastating, results.
In our culture we usually deal well with any physical wounds that happen to us. What we aren’t so good at dealing with are the emotional and spiritual wounds that come to us all. These wounds often become sources of infection in our soul and spirit. They aren’t dealt with properly and so they continue to hurt us rather than becoming a source of healing. ‘Sacred Wounds’, on the other hand, are wounds that have become ‘healing wounds’ for us and others. Irrespective of their origin they have been transformed by God’s grace so that their destructive or harmful potential is gone. They now become a source of help and hope. It doesn’t mean that they no longer hurt (this is very important to understand). It means that they no longer harm us or those around us.
Some hurts we carry with us for a long time: the death of a loved one; the loss of a relationship; the disappointment of a broken dream; the hurtful words of a friend; a prolonged illness that robs us of strength, vitality, and hope. It is wrong to think that these hurts are only healed when the pain they carry is gone. They are healed when the harm they carry is gone; when they stop doing damage to ourselves and others. Then they become ‘sacred wounds’, wounds that have a redemptive power to heal.
Jesus wounds were sacred wounds. His wounds are what provide for our ultimate healing and wholeness. But Jesus is not the only one with sacred wounds. Listen to these words, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps.” (1 Peter 2:21). “Sharing” (Philippians 3:10) or “participating” (1 Peter 4:13) in the sufferings of Jesus means more than simply receiving them as our source of healing. We are to follow His example by allowing our wounds to become sacred wounds – places of healing for self and others. Grace must flow in 2 directions: into us for our healing, and through us for the healing of others. Our wounds can only become sacred wounds as they are healed and transformed by His sacred wounds. Our wounds are only sacred because they exist within a greater wound – the wounds of Christ.
The wounds of Jesus became sacred when He surrendered them into the hands of the Father. “Not my will but Thine be done.” (Mark 14:36). “Father, into Thy hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke23:46). Christ modeled for us how wounds become sacred: through surrender, letting go of them. Not clinging or clenching them tight fisted. When we cling tightly to our wounds we continue to draw out their poison. The more we squeeze the more poison they produce. The more poison they produce, the more harm done to ourself and others.
But when we let go of them in surrender to the Father we allow His healing salve to be rubbed into them. Interesting word, ‘salve’ (ointment used for healing). See how closely it looks like the word ‘salvation’. Salvation is the process of rubbing the healing ointment of God’s grace into our deepest wound (separation from God). Surrendering our hurts and wounds to God is the process (transformation) of moving from poison to grace-filled healing. These sacred wounds of ours then also become a source of healing to others. Bitterness and anger is the poison that comes from wounds we will not let go of. Grace and blessing flow from sacred wounds.
In our culture we usually deal well with any physical wounds that happen to us. What we aren’t so good at dealing with are the emotional and spiritual wounds that come to us all. These wounds often become sources of infection in our soul and spirit. They aren’t dealt with properly and so they continue to hurt us rather than becoming a source of healing. ‘Sacred Wounds’, on the other hand, are wounds that have become ‘healing wounds’ for us and others. Irrespective of their origin they have been transformed by God’s grace so that their destructive or harmful potential is gone. They now become a source of help and hope. It doesn’t mean that they no longer hurt (this is very important to understand). It means that they no longer harm us or those around us.
Some hurts we carry with us for a long time: the death of a loved one; the loss of a relationship; the disappointment of a broken dream; the hurtful words of a friend; a prolonged illness that robs us of strength, vitality, and hope. It is wrong to think that these hurts are only healed when the pain they carry is gone. They are healed when the harm they carry is gone; when they stop doing damage to ourselves and others. Then they become ‘sacred wounds’, wounds that have a redemptive power to heal.
Jesus wounds were sacred wounds. His wounds are what provide for our ultimate healing and wholeness. But Jesus is not the only one with sacred wounds. Listen to these words, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps.” (1 Peter 2:21). “Sharing” (Philippians 3:10) or “participating” (1 Peter 4:13) in the sufferings of Jesus means more than simply receiving them as our source of healing. We are to follow His example by allowing our wounds to become sacred wounds – places of healing for self and others. Grace must flow in 2 directions: into us for our healing, and through us for the healing of others. Our wounds can only become sacred wounds as they are healed and transformed by His sacred wounds. Our wounds are only sacred because they exist within a greater wound – the wounds of Christ.
The wounds of Jesus became sacred when He surrendered them into the hands of the Father. “Not my will but Thine be done.” (Mark 14:36). “Father, into Thy hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke23:46). Christ modeled for us how wounds become sacred: through surrender, letting go of them. Not clinging or clenching them tight fisted. When we cling tightly to our wounds we continue to draw out their poison. The more we squeeze the more poison they produce. The more poison they produce, the more harm done to ourself and others.
But when we let go of them in surrender to the Father we allow His healing salve to be rubbed into them. Interesting word, ‘salve’ (ointment used for healing). See how closely it looks like the word ‘salvation’. Salvation is the process of rubbing the healing ointment of God’s grace into our deepest wound (separation from God). Surrendering our hurts and wounds to God is the process (transformation) of moving from poison to grace-filled healing. These sacred wounds of ours then also become a source of healing to others. Bitterness and anger is the poison that comes from wounds we will not let go of. Grace and blessing flow from sacred wounds.
1 comment:
"It is wrong to think that these hurts are only healed when the pain they carry is gone. They are healed when the harm they carry is gone; when they stop doing damage to ourselves and others. Then they become ‘sacred wounds’, wounds that have a redemptive power to heal."
These are the words that stick with me from your last blog. I've been a Christian for most of my life and in the past several years I have been learning the truth of what it means to live in forgiveness and with hurt. It doesn't mean we don't remember the pain. It means we work through, sometimes never forgetting, the pain presented to us. At times the pain presented flares up in unexpected ways or at unexpected times. How we choose to live through it reveals the power of Christ in us.
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